[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Coinciding with its fifth-year anniversary, Maude has received a Michelin star in the Michelin Guide’s return to Los Angeles after almost a decade. The 2019 California Guide covers the entire state including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Twenty-four restaurants were awarded stars in Los Angeles and a total of 90 restaurants received honours throughout the state.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”65910″ media_width_percent=”100″ alignment=”center” img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Realising a lifelong dream, chef Curtis Stone opened his first solo restaurant, Maude in February 2014. Affectionately named after his late paternal grandmother, the restaurant pays homage to Curtis’ first culinary mentor whose sensibilities are resonant throughout the restaurant experience.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”65913″ media_width_percent=”100″ alignment=”center” img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]For the first four years, the menu at Maude was a set ten-course chef’s tasting menu created around one seasonal ingredient each month and creatively woven, to varying degrees, through each course. Some courses calling for the hero ingredient to be at the centre of the plate, whilst at other times playing a supporting role.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”65911″ media_width_percent=”100″ alignment=”center” img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In January 2018, Maude debuted a new muse: drawing inspiration from the great wine regions of the world. Changing four times a year, tasting menus are inspired by the hero region, and for each forthcoming menu the team travels to the region of focus to become immersed in the terroir, food, wine, and culture of each destination. The team has travelled to Rioja, Burgundy, Piedmont, and more recently, Western Australia to draw inspiration for the degustation.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”65914″ media_width_percent=”100″ alignment=”center” img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Michelin ceremony was in Huntington Beach and live-streamed on Michelin’s Facebook page. Stone received the news in Australia.
“The Michelin Guide coming to LA to do a California state-wide guide is so exciting,“ says Stone. “I spent my early years cooking in Europe in Michelin-starred restaurants and the guide was always a barometer of where we were at. To be awarded a Michelin star feels a little like a life’s work all come together in one day. When you work in a kitchen you work with a team of people, you work really hard, you treat each other like family, you become an integral part of a team and you rely on each other. To be awarded the biggest honour in the business is actually a really selfless thing, because the star’s not for you it’s for everyone who works in the restaurant.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”65912″ media_width_percent=”100″ alignment=”center” img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]“We’ve achieved it as a team. I’m super proud of everyone who works there right now, and people who have worked there over the last 12 months, they’ve all helped us get to where we wanted to get to and we’re really proud of where we are. We don’t want to stop. It’s made us really hungry to get a second star and keep pushing our boundaries, honing in on our detail and creating an incredible guest experience. Every time you feel like you’ve achieved something you want to set bigger goals, so that’s where we are as a team right now. All the texts between us as it was happening was like, ‘I can’t believe it, let’s go, let’s do more!’ It’s an exciting moment for us, because while we’re super happy with what we’ve just achieved and want to celebrate, we all can’t wait to get back in the kitchen and do even better.”
Visit mauderestaurant.com or follow on social media @mauderestaurant
Source: Maude Restaurant[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
